Rising Sun
by icedcooly
Summary: A fic about the overall recovery of a post-Sephiroth world, two years after. Christmastime, and New Midgar has completed construction. Primarily a YuffiexVincent fic, but will be exploring various other pairings as well.


Rising Sun  
  
Chapter One: Christmas Eve Reflections  
  
Disclaimer: FF7 doesn't belong to me, so you all can breathe your sighs of relief now.  
  
I've always been just the slightest bit afraid of him. Him, with his unwavering ruby gaze, like nothing I've ever before felt. Yes, felt. His was a presence I felt more than saw, and for that I never could truly place a finger on him.  
  
My mother used to always say I had that special ninja's sixth sense about people. As a child, I would shy away from dubious strangers bearing propositions for Wutai's future and alert her to the unapparent threat they posed. She would in turn voice her concerns to Godo, and later, having refused these men politely, discover that I had been right in detecting their suspiciousness.  
  
Yet I had never been able to truly perceive my feelings about and towards this scarlet-cloaked stranger since his sudden arrival into the mish-mash of like-minded people known as AVALANCHE. That was why I had been so suspicious about his joining us, and even voiced it to Cloud.  
  
  
  
"Cloud...are you sure about letting him come?"  
  
"Don't worry Yuffie. We're all working towards the same thing-defeating Sephiroth. And...wouldn't you rather have him on our side?"  
  
He had a point there.  
  
Still...his reasons for locking himself up in that musty old place for decades seemed questionable to me. More like downright ridiculous really. I had never really gone for all that atonement crap. People who spent precious years on what they called "atonement" were really just trying to make them feel better about themselves and what they had done. Did I really need to get a dictionary out? Even an 18 year old like me could tell that locking yourself up and alienating yourself from the outside world wasn't making amends. Far from it in fact.  
  
As I gazed at him now however, I felt differently. He sat on Tifa's lovely new couch, as did I, warming himself by the fireside. The flames filled the living room with a warm aura that rarely left it-the Strife household always held an intimate feeling of familial love. Yet the warmth that surrounded the man himself was a sight to behold. Still, it wasn't something out of place. In fact, it felt...well, close to beautiful.  
  
I'm not always one for beauty and poetry and all that sort of stuff...but really, you should've been there. Sitting there in the Strife living room on Christmas eve, with warmth surrounding you, with your friends talking away merrily and peals of laughter like sleighbells ringing...it was enough to make even /me/ sentimental.  
  
I closed my eyes and took a breath. I could still see the gentle light from the fireplace flickering in my mind's eye. And, I could still feel that strong, almost tangible presence of all my friends, the Christmas spirit, the experience of having shed blood, tears and sweat together, the everything that bound us all together like a band of light.  
  
The scars from the Northern Crater were still fresh on our minds and bodies, but look at us--we were celebrating Christmas like one big family all over again. It was something I could never have hoped to experience without meeting them. Crazy, how life turned out.  
  
"C'mon, what'dya get for me Papa? C'mon, tell me Papa!" Marlene's clear young voice rang out above the racket everyone else was making. I reopened my eyes to look at her on Barret's lap, snuggling into her father's chest.  
  
"Justah couple more hours, baby. Christmas'll be here and ya can open aaalll ya presents! And believe ya me, ya got tons!" was the reply, gruff with affection. To demonstrate his point, he gestured at the mountain of multicoloured boxes stacked underneath the tremendous tree.  
  
Heck, even Barret looked beautiful in that atmosphere! I almost laughed out loud when I thought that.  
  
  
  
On their right was Red, stretching himself out comfortably over the living room rug now a lovely wine colour from the light of the fireplace. He lazily eyed Tifa by the Christmas tree, hanging the paper angels Marlene had drawn up, with help from that obnoxious cat and his oversized Moogle. I couldn't even think mean thoughts about Cait though, not on Christmas Eve.  
  
Cid sat on an armchair behind him, puffing on a pipe he had gotten from Shera for his Christmas present. (Yes, Cid was the kind of man who didn't give a damn and opened his presents early. Some kind of childhood he had huh?) Hmm...hadn't he screamed "Pipes just ain't my %^#$in' style! What the ^@%$'s wrong with ya!?" at Shera when he received it? Strange. I smirked to myself. We all knew what kind of man he really was, deep down inside.  
  
And then...Cloud. He was just helping himself to some of the fruitcake adorning the table, along with the rest of the Christmas feast, like a child. He was piercing into a slice with his fork when he caught me gazing at him, and flashed me a bright goofy grin before he dug in happily. I couldn't help the corners of my lips lifting in return though he wasn't looking any longer.  
  
Deciding I wasn't about to be still and watch the others indulge any longer, I got up from my perch on the arm of the couch Vincent and I were sharing to prance over to Cloud's side and help myself to some of Elymra's delectable fruitcake.  
  
"Having a good time?" Cloud asked, blue eyes twinkling. I could almost feel my face getting hot. Thank gawd for that fireplace!  
  
"Sure! It's wonderful that almost all of us could make it. Y'know...I was kinda afraid that we would all split up after Sephy's defeat and go our separate ways...y'know?" I added again lamely. He nodded in agreement, his mouth full with fruitcake. "And...it's a wonderful place you guys have here. Really," I continued, the heat rising in my face despite my attempt to remind myself of the "you guys" that came into existence six months after Sephiroth's defeat, when Cloud proposed to Tifa and the two of them wasted no time in setting up a home in the quiet town of Kalm.  
  
He then smiled warmly at me. I felt my heart in my mouth. Gawd, it was always the unattainable that I wanted wasn't it? That was just how life was.  
  
"Thanks Yuffie. Really appreciate that. Yeah...married life really is what I imagined it to be. You should try it sometime too, you know?" He winked, and I giggled at his dumb remark.  
  
He had changed like that. Slowly, after Sephiroth's defeat and the cave-in of the Northern Crater, he had grown to learn how to relax around others, especially around Tifa. The taut leader expression that had resided permanently on his face during our quest gradually faded, and a Cloud I had always imagined but never realized truly existed surfaced. He smiled goofily, he made stupid jokes, he cared enough about Christmas to see to it that each of his friends had their own special stocking hung on the fireplace. He learnt to care about the little things.  
  
"I'll never get married, Cloud!" was what I meant to say, and slap him on the back as I guffawed so he would choke on the fruitcake. But somehow it instead came out as "I'll never get married, Cloud..." with a wistful expression, and a longing I had often repressed in my eyes.  
  
Startled, I quickly covered and cried, "Cos my heart belongs with your mastered Knights of the Round! I got it for Christmas didn't I? Tell me I did!"  
  
He looked at me with wide eyes. "How did you know!?"  
  
I stared back with my mouth open, dumbfounded. He couldn't be serious...a mastered Knights of the Round?! I mean, I couldn't believe my silly cover-up was really real. And that...he had given me materia for Christmas.  
  
It kind of...hurt.  
  
"Cloud? Yuffie? C'mon over! It's almost time!" Tifa called out from the Christmas tree.  
  
I glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. 11.45pm.  
  
I felt Cloud leave my side and step over to where Tifa was standing, and I saw the loving exchange that took place between them. There was such love in their eyes, that universal emotion I could never seem to quite reach. At that point I really could almost feel my heart tremble.  
  
/Why did Christmas have to be such an emotional time?/ I inwardly despaired. All the hype and festivities were getting to me. Nobody would've guessed Yuffie Kisaragi, descendant of the Shinobi was one big softie when it came to festive occasions.  
  
I made my way over to the large tree which Cid had flown over from the North, a gift, in fact, from the Chocobo Sage. "For your patronage and patience," he'd said warmly. And then... "Who are you guys again?"  
  
It was aglitter with Christmas baubles and lights, and Marlene's paper angels shone prettily on it. I had lent her gold paper from my special stash back in Wutai, and she'd kissed me in return. I never knew I had maternal instincts until I met her.  
  
AVALANCHE was gathered around the tree, everyone like children once again. Vincent still sat, looking quietly into the fire, but he didn't count. I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought the thought. As if he wasn't human! I scolded myself. But he wasn't...well, not really anyway.  
  
Tifa left him alone with a glass of red wine, and then promptly announced "When it strikes 12, leave your presents first okay? I want everyone to grab the person nearest to them, give them a big hug and kiss and a 'Merry Christmas!' from the heart!" She beamed down at everyone, and everyone looked back obligingly. How like the mother of AVALANCHE she was! I mused.  
  
I loved her really. She was one reason it made it both easier and more difficult to give Cloud up. Easier because she was this amazing lady I could never compete with, and more difficult because both she and her husband were people I loved from the heart.  
  
I never really knew when my childish infatuation with him grew into something more. I know the crush started when I first set eyes on him. Wow, I remember thinking. This guy is really something. There were no blonde-haired, blue-eyed men in Wutai, and certainly none who could match his combat skills. The way he swung his huge sword with the ease of practice and confidence would have any girl swooning at his feet, really. It didn't matter back then that I was just another one of them.  
  
At first, I'd been intimidated by his almost hostile exterior. His silence was so at odds with my chatter that I was always afraid I was annoying him more than letting him know I cared. And, everyone didn't help matters any by labelling me the brat, the kid, the child in AVALANCHE. Nobody really trusted me, I knew that. It really hurt when Barret pronounced that I wouldn't be returning to help with Sephiroth's battle, like it was a given.  
  
But sometime along the way, I don't exactly know when, he started to loosen up. He began to talk more, to take a more active interest in things. I suppose if I had to name one time I began to feel more than just my heart aflutter whenever he was in the immediate vicinity, it was when he began relating to me his own problems with motion sickness on the Highwind after I'd asked him to sign the materia contract.  
  
I mean, when he said "Forget it. I'm not even gonna read it." I honestly thought he meant he would never consider leaving any materia with me after the battle because it was me, Yuffie the thieving little ninja. But he went on to explain that he got motionsick when he read. And then I could feel a bond forming between us already.  
  
The only two warriors who braved the greatest danger Mankind ever faced, and were forced to succumb to the swaying motions of a bloody ship.  
  
A chorus of exclamations suddenly erupted, and I realized that it was Christmas.  
  
I felt someone wrap thick strong arms around me, and a giant smooch on my forehead. "Ew!" I squeezed my eyes shut, and when released from the death grip, realized it was none other than big Barret, beaming down upon me with a fatherly expression.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Yuffie!" he boomed. He would've made a great Santa Claus if not for the fact that he was dark-skinned, and had a cold steel gun grafted onto his right arm.  
  
I grinned back cheekily. "Merry Christmas you big old coot!"  
  
He patted my head and moved on in search of new prey. It was really stupid how--well, belonged I felt after he'd hugged me. Really stupid...  
  
"You're crying."  
  
I glanced up quickly into the eyes of...well, Vincent Valentine. /Thanks for pointing out the obvious, you creepy weirdo.../  
  
Instead, I threw my arms wide open and squeezed him as tight as I dared to.  
  
"That's just cos I thought you weren't gonna come on over and kiss me, Mr. Valentine!"  
  
He remained stiff and motionless in my arms, and stared at me enigmatically after I let go of him.  
  
"I don't even get a 'Merry Christmas'?" I asked in mock hurt.  
  
He lowered his gaze and looked almost chastised. I would've happily forgiven him anything then!  
  
Then "Merry Christmas, Yuffie..." in a quiet voice, so soft I could barely hear over the excited yells and greetings.  
  
As he swept off--literally, his red cloak made any and all dramatic exits possible--I could feel the nagging feeling of uncertainty again. He was a good guy, I was sure, yet I couldn't quite bring myself to accept him for all the weird vibes he was giving out.  
  
I received quite the slew of presents this year. That mastered Knights of the Round from Cloud, an adorable Santarina suit complete with boots from Tifa, a book on Wutainese history from the ever well-meaning Red, a set of Turbo Tranquilizers from Cid (with a note which read "So you don't make a *#&$ing mess of the Highwind the next time!" Hmm...typical), a portrait of Leviathan from Marlene (the girl was shaping up to be a great artist next time), a box of Corel rock candy from Barret ("The new factory's producin' em'. Sweet huh? In remembrance of the old mines..."), a small wood carving of myself with the Conformer in a fighting pose from Vincent ("Did you carve these, Vincent?!" all of AVALANCHE, each of which had received his or her own wooden likeness, demanded to know. He did indeed. So that was what he did in his free time...), a new green turtleneck from Elymra, and...a large grey rock wrapped hastily in newspaper from Cait Sith.  
  
"I know you're just a cat on a Moogle with no spare gil from your inaccurate fortune telling services, but...a /rock/?" I stared at Cait in disbelief. Everyone had received the same from him, and was now awaiting his answer in puzzlement.  
  
He grinned, and replied jauntily, "A piece of the old Midgar, guys. It's a piece of the rubble left when we tore down the Shinra Tower, and almost everything else. New Midgar is almost done by now. In fact, I commissioned them to complete everything by Christmas. That, everyone, is the last physical memory of the Midgar we used to know. Your real presents wait in New Midgar."  
  
Cait's most moving speech ever caused a flurry of responses in the living room and for a moment, nobody could really hear anything coherent.  
  
We all knew the reconstruction of Midgar was a big hush hush project, which only Midgarians, and perhaps some Kalm citizens, were privy to. It was a massive thing to keep under wraps, but Reeve had done it with little problem, as the other towns had their own share of recovering from the aftershocks of Meteor, and the issue of newly reopened and reopening cracks on the Earth's surface from the outflow of Lifestream which had saved the Earth from utter destruction two years ago.  
  
Cloud and Tifa had in fact expressed their desire to make their new home in Midgar, but Reeve had persuaded them to wait until the project was completed. Why all the secrecy? They'd asked, bewildered. Reeve simply smiled and replied that it would all be worth the wait.  
  
The living room seemed to burst with noise, as everyone struggled to get Cait's attention. The poor cat nearly tumbled off his Moogle, when he suddenly whipped out his ever-present, ever-obnoxious loudspeaker and yelled, "Calm down, you guys! It's only New Midgar! You'll get to see it tomorrow anyways!"  
  
This did little to repair the situation, and the commotion did not "calm down" until Marlene began to nod off on her father's shoulder, and everyone realized that if they were indeed to get a glimpse of New Midgar the next day, they had a long day in front of them which they needed to be rested for.  
  
I, for one, was really curious as to how New Midgar turned out. Surely, Reeve would do away with the Mako Reactors, but what would he replace them with? And what about that "$#%^in' pizza" Barret occasionally brought up when prompted to speak about AVALANCHE's original headquarters? And the slum problem? Had Reeve managed to solve that too? Honestly, I found it hard to believe he could change that much in just two years.  
  
It seemed the rest appeared to think so too. Still, everyone obediently shuffled off to the rooms Tifa allocated authoritatively, content to retire for the night.  
  
"Yuffie, you room with Barret, Marlene and Red okay? We don't have enough rooms for everyone," Tifa said apologetically. I waved off her apology and, bidding her goodnight with a special thank you hug for the dinner, went up to my room where I allowed Barret to tuck a drowsy Marlene under the sheets with me, because he "don' feel safe wit' her so tiny and me's big as anything, whys I'd roll over and squash her no time flat. 'Sides, she afraid of sleepin' alone...ya know, what with the boogie man and all..."  
  
I was sleepy, really exhausted from the day's activities. Funny, I never knew Christmas to be this draining.  
  
My last waking thoughts were of Cloud, unsurprisingly.  
  
A/N: Yes, this really is a YuffiexVincent fic...why do you ask? ^_-; I'm sorry if the ending seems a little rushed. It's 3am in the morning, and my brain has officially ceased proper functioning. Relevant edits in order at a later date. Now...sleep. Oh yes, please comment on the fic! I honestly have no real idea of where and how to take this, and I'd appreciate ideas or feedback. My original intention was to just write something that would get all the Yuffentine-ish ideas out of my system, but now I think I'll try to make the fic a little more generalan overall recovery of the FF7 world after Sephiroth.  
  
And...I know it's a lousy title. I might change it later, so bear with it for a while? ^_^; 


End file.
